Artist’s expertise draws framers to Morgan City

Professional framers from three states came to Morgan City this weekend to learn from local artist Catherine Siracusa about encaustic art as well as to learn how to frame it.
“Framing, when it’s done well, is an extension of the piece of art that you’re framing. It doesn’t take over. It doesn’t overpower. It enhances,” said Deborah Price, owner of The Frame Shop in Morgan City.
Price also serves as the vice president of the Deep South Chapter of the Professional Picture Framers Association.
About a dozen members from the Deep South Chapter as well as two other Texas chapters were in Morgan City this weekend to attend the spring educational retreat where Siracusa presented her craft.
The chapter spans all of Louisiana and Mississippi, but attendees also came from two chapters in Texas, according to association Vice President Deborah Price of The Frame Shop and Gallery Coffee in Morgan City.
The retreat weekend began Saturday evening in the cabins at Lake End Parkway with networking and trade association discussions. Sunday, Siracusa taught an encaustic art (hot wax painting) class. Discussions regarding the proper techniques in framing specialty art followed.
“Because they’re so varied, a lot of shops have never dealt with encaustics. So, that’s why we chose this. We thought it would be something different that not a lot of people have worked with on a regular basis,” Price said.
Price said the choice to host the event in Morgan City was made for a variety of reasons.
“Catherine’s a local artist, and we’ve been talking since last year about doing an encaustic class. Initially, we were talking about we would either go to New Orleans or toward the Lafayette area because we try to spread our meetings around … it’s easier for everyone to drive in here from all these different directions. It was an opportunity to show off our hometown and provide a nice venue,” Price said.
On pairing an art class with a framing workshop, Price noted that a lot of framers are not artists.
“But, you have to have an appreciation for it. And somewhere back there, we’re all wanna-be artists maybe. You have an artistic bent as far as color and composition because those are all things you’re incorporating into your framing,” Price said.